Phoenix Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes has agreed to sell the bankrupt franchise to the NHL. The agreement, which still must be approved by Judge Redfield T. Baum, was announced in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Monday. Former coach Wayne Gretzky, who has a $22.5million claim in the case, has not agreed to the deal. Moyes' attorney said the decision to make a deal came largely because the expenses of running the team in bankruptcy were being paid from the league's $140 million offer.

Ted Saskin, senior director of the players association, was in New York on other business Tuesday and got together with Bill Daly, the NHL's chief legal officer. "It was more of a conversation as opposed to a negotiation," according to NHL spokesman Frank Brown.

The Toronto Globe and Mail is reporting that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman struck out at least three times in attempts to peddle the Phoenix Coyotes, including to White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf. Citing multiple sources, the newspaper reports Bettman was turned down on separate occasions by Reinsdorf, Phoenix Suns majority owner Robert Sarver and Ken Kendrick, the managing general partner of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The paper reported that all...

The NHL canceled its draft Thursday, the latest casualty of the six-month lockout. The annual amateur draft had been scheduled for June 25-26 in Ottawa, but it was scrapped along with the entire 2004-05 season that was called off Feb. 16. Bill Daly, the NHL's chief legal officer, said the draft could not proceed without a collective-bargaining agreement. He apologized to fans, the city of Ottawa and "to everyone who already had put so much time and effort into creating a memorable weekend."

The NHL canceled its draft Thursday, the latest casualty of the six-month lockout. The annual amateur draft had been scheduled for June 25-26 in Ottawa, but it was scrapped along with the entire 2004-05 season that was called off Feb. 16. Bill Daly, the NHL's chief legal officer, said the draft could not proceed without a collective-bargaining agreement. He apologized to fans, the city of Ottawa and "to everyone who already had put so much time and effort into creating a memorable weekend."

The NHL and the players' association will resume talks next Thursday in an effort to end the lockout and save the season. After nearly three months of silence on and off the ice, the sides agreed Thursday to meet in Toronto after players' association executive director Bob Goodenow sent a letter to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, inviting the league back to the negotiating table and saying the union had a new proposal since Bettman rejected the NHLPA's...

Just when it appeared the NHL couldn't sink any lower, the elevator kept dropping. Three days after becoming the first professional sports league in North America to cancel a season and one day after almost becoming the first to reverse its own cancellation, the NHL is back to where it was--no agreement with its players' union, no season and a new shade of red on its face. An incredible Friday, in which many sources said a deal had been reached and the season would begin in early March,...

NHL teams posted record losses of nearly $300 million last season, according to figures distributed to owners this summer. That was an increase of 35 percent from the $218 million in operating losses incurred by the league last year. The losses are blamed on soaring player salaries. Without a salary cap, the NHL spent 76 percent of $1.93 billion in revenue on players salaries and benefits. That is a greater percentage than in the NBA, NFL or Major League Baseball. "This is a level...

The National Hockey League looks like it may cancel its cancellation. The NHL and its players' union will meet in New York Saturday--at the league's request--and an agreement in principle could be announced sometime during the day. A representative group from the union met Friday night in Manhattan with an offer that included various levels of salary caps and luxury taxes, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The highest cap would have been $45.75 million and the lowest $42.5 million,...

As Sydney Olympic organizers made another round of budget cuts, a top IOC official criticized them Thursday for having a "dysfunctional relationship" with sponsors. Dick Pound, an International Olympic Committee vice president who negotiates its key TV and marketing deals, accused Sydney organizers of "bad-mouthing" the most successful marketing program in Olympic history. Sydney organizers trimmed another $22.8 million from the budget and UPS, a major sponsor, withdrew as the...

With the clock ticking toward a news conference scheduled by the NHL on Wednesday in New York, the lead negotiators for the league and the players' association spent much of Monday discussing compromises that might salvage the season. Early Monday, hours after the deadline Commissioner Gary Bettman had set for the two sides to begin writing an agreement, the league contacted the union and agreed that Bill Daly, the league's chief legal officer, and Ted Saskin, the union's senior director,...

The Toronto Globe and Mail is reporting that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman struck out at least three times in attempts to peddle the Phoenix Coyotes, including to White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf. Citing multiple sources, the newspaper reports Bettman was turned down on separate occasions by Reinsdorf, Phoenix Suns majority owner Robert Sarver and Ken Kendrick, the managing general partner of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The paper reported that all...

After rejecting the latest league proposal without attempting to negotiate off it, NHL Players Association executive director Bob Goodenow is rumored to be ready to present the league with another proposal before Monday--when most observers expect the league will cancel the rest of the 2004-05 season. It's unlikely any public statements will be made other than to announce a deal or the season's cancellation. But rumors are spreading Goodenow will present NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman with a...

Phoenix Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes has agreed to sell the bankrupt franchise to the NHL. The agreement, which still must be approved by Judge Redfield T. Baum, was announced in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Monday. Former coach Wayne Gretzky, who has a $22.5million claim in the case, has not agreed to the deal. Moyes' attorney said the decision to make a deal came largely because the expenses of running the team in bankruptcy were being paid from the league's $140 million offer.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and union chief Bob Goodenow, along with their aides, met for about nine hours Thursday in New York trying to come to an agreement that would save some semblance of a season. Talks are set to resume Friday. "The meeting with the league has ended for this evening," said a statement released by the NHL Players' Association just before 10 p.m. "The parties plan to meet again [Friday]." The NHL declined comment on what was discussed, or if any progress was being made.

The National Hockey League looks like it may cancel its cancellation. The NHL and its players' union will meet in New York Saturday--at the league's request--and an agreement in principle could be announced sometime during the day. A representative group from the union met Friday night in Manhattan with an offer that included various levels of salary caps and luxury taxes, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The highest cap would have been $45.75 million and the lowest $42.5 million,...

In what may be a last roll of the dice to save some semblance of a season, the NHL made a formal proposal to the players' union Wednesday in an attempt to end the owners' lockout. The NHL Players' Association rejected the proposal, but the sides will meet again Thursday in New York, this time with union President Bob Goodenow and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman joining the talks. The latest proposal retains the salary cap on which the NHL has insisted, setting a cap of $42 million per team on salaries...

The air of optimism that had surrounded Wednesday's NHL labor talks dissipated Thursday when a second day of meetings ended with "very strong philosophical differences" dividing the negotiators. NHL management and the National Hockey League Players Association parted ways after a 4 1/2-hour session in Toronto with vague promises to meet again but little evidence of progress after nearly 10 hours of discussions over two days. Bill Daly, NHL executive vice president and chief legal...